Title: The Spirit of Belonging
Text: Rom 8:14-16
Date:.1-20-08.am
Ro 8:14-17
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. NASB
Paul uses a variety of illustrations in chapter 8 to help us understand the distinctiveness of the Christian Life. It is life “in Christ” as opposed to life outside of Christ “in Adam.”. It is life as opposed to death; It is a life free of condemnation as opposed to a life under condemnation; The Christian life is life lived in the Spirit as opposed to in the flesh. In verse 14 Paul uses an illustration from family life; in this passage we see the Spirit as the Spirit of belonging – in Christ we become sons, or children of God, we are given a new identity, we become part of a new group.
WE BELONG TO A NEW GROUP
In society we catagorize people. We do it by race, gender, nationality, social status, wealth, and position. We do it sociologically and demographically. . Nebraskans, Georgians, Yankees, Southerners, Hispanic, Slovak Gays, Straights, jocks, Geeks, Goths, Freaks, Preppies, Skin Heads, Democrats, Republicans Liberals, Conservatives, Wealthy, Poor. Some have positive connotation, some negative. Some politically correct, some not so politically correct. Sometimes we don’t like the group someone else puts us in, and sometimes we want to be part of a particular group. The truth is everybody wants to belong to some kind of group, to have some kind of identity a sense of belonging.
The bible divides people into two groups: Those who are Lost and Those who are Saved:
Everyone belongs to one of these two groups that supercede all the others. No matter what other category or group you might belong to we are either lost or we are saved. We either have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ or we don't. John, in his first letter, distinguishes these categories as children of God as opposed to children of the devil ( 1 Jn 3:10). Something that’s not very politically correct, but none the less true. Paul is talking about belonging – to which group or in this case family do I belong and who is my true father.
Paul addresses two doctrines related to this new family group in this passage. The first which he introduced earlier in chapter six is sanctification. We haven’t talked a lot about sanctification but it is the process of growing in Christ likeness and maturing in our Christian faith. As we will see from Paul’s writing sanctification also defined as being led by the Spirit of God. Those definitions are synonymous. If you are being led by the Spirit you are growing and maturing and if you are growing and maturing it’s only because you are being led by the Spirit. The second doctrine is adoption. Those who are led by the Spirit are identified as children of God.
According to Dr. Landrum Leavell, former president of New Orleans Seminary, sanctification means the person who is "in Christ," and again by "in Christ" we mean the person who has a personal relationship with Christ through faith; who has received Christ as Lord and Savior, is separated from a life of unbelief, from the associations of that life, and from the old sinful nature. This separation comes as a result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That separation doesn’t mean perfection. It means set apart. When we come to Christ by faith we become part of a new group. We can call that group by many different names but we are part of the saved. We are also Christians. We are not Christians because we live in a “Christian” nation or have Christian parents or attend a Christian church. We are only Christians by faith in Jesus Christ. I read this in an email recently but I think it applies to what we are talking about:
When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not shouting "I'm clean living'"
I'm whispering "I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven."
When I say... "I am a Christian " I don't speak of it with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not claiming to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I'm worth it.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain...
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not "holier than thou",
I'm just a simple sinner who received God's grace!
We become part of the of this new group by grace through faith.
WE HAVE A NEW POSSESSION
Not only are we part of a new group, every person who comes to Christ by faith has a new possession. We receive the Spirit of God Himself. 1 Co 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? NASB
The Spirit of God seals us and marks us (Eph 1:13; 4:40). He sets us apart to God, and He indwells us (Rom 8:11). He becomes resident within us. He brings a new dimension to our lives. To be led by the Spirit means we are able, not that we always do, but we are able, because of His indwelling and His continual ministry to follow God.
Paul pictures the Spirit as a shepherd who leads His sheep. It’s the same concept John uses when he portrays Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Like a shepherd the Spirit carries the believer through the trials and struggles of life. He leads and guides the believer along the path of righteousness, He instructs and teaches us how to live and grow in Christ likeness. Those are also evidence of the Spirit in our lives. In other words as we experience His presence through trials and as we experience His leading us and teaching us it is evidence to us and others that we are His.
The shepherd always leads, but the sheep don't always follow. But, it is only by the possession and indwelling power of His Spirit we can follow Him at all. In Col 2:6-7 Paul said, as you received Christ Jesus as lord continue to live in him, rooted and built up. That clearly tells us we have the duty or responsibility of following Christ and submitting to His leadership. But, without the presence of the Holy Spirit we lack the desire, the ability or the sense of direction to follow Him at all.
Not only are we part of a new group with a new possession. We also have a new Father.
WE HAVE A NEW FATHER
When Jesus was debating with Jews in John chapter 8 they claimed their father was Abraham, but Jesus told them they were of their father the devil. Paul says those who are led by the Spirit, who have the Spirit's presence in their lives, are now the children of God.
We are not God’s children by birth, we are adopted into the family of God through Jesus Christ. The doctrine of adoption is one of the most blessed teachings in all of Scripture. Paul being familiar with both the Roman and Greek culture blends the concepts of adoption in these two cultures to illustrate his point. In Greek thought the importance of the adoption is in becoming a part of the family. In Roman thought it is the idea of permanence, once a child was adopted into a Roman family that child could never be disowned.
Paul says when we come to Christ by faith and are united with Him He adopts us and we become a permanent part of the family of God. There is no where we can go, nothing we can do that will separate us from that family relationship. This gives us not only a new identity as family members, but a new relationship to God. Only through adoption does God become our Father.
The universalist concept of the fatherhood of God, and brotherhood of man is not a Biblical concept. According to the Bible everyone is related to God as the creator by the fact of being His creation. And, we are related to all other humans because we are part of the same created order of beings. But is only through a relationship with Jesus Christ that humans are brought into that special relationship to God where He becomes Father. This relationship is characterized by a several things.
It is characterized by love - God's love - In 1 John 3:1, the Bible says: How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. The Bible says we can love because He first loved us. It is a love which is unconditional love. That love is exemplified in the account of the prodigal son in Lk 15. We are adopted into God’s family because of God’s great love for us.
It is characterized by intimacy - The Jews had such a awe and reverence for God that they would not say or write his name they used the word Adoni when mentioning God. That’ still true today. And it should be that way we should have a great reverence for God.
The relationship between God the Father and God the Son is characterized by this same reverence. However, it also is characterized by intimacy. It is a relationship of love, fellowship and closeness. After celebrating the last supper with His disciples Jesus went into the garden at Gethsemane and He came into the presence of the Father in prayer. In that intimate moment of time, contemplating His death, He addressed God with a wonderful term of intimacy. Mark wrote in 14:36: “And He was saying, ‘Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt.’" (NAS)
We might translate it “daddy” or my dear father. Paul says our new relationship as children gives us the confidence to use such an intimate term in addressing Almighty God as our dear Father. In v 15 Paul explains that in our old group we belonged to
the unsaved we had a spirit of bondage that lead us to be afraid of God and His wrath. In a new group we received a different Spirit. That Shepherding Spirit is now referred to as the Spirit of adoption. It’s the Spirit which dispels our fear and produces that assured relationship that allows us to also, like Jesus, call God daddy or Abba Father.
It is assured by the testimony of the Spirit - v. 16 God’s indwelling Spirit bears witness with our spirit. These two witnesses confirm in us the reality of what has taken place in the new birth. John said1 Jn 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life. NASB. The Holy Spirit testifies to us the reality of faith in our lives that we are indeed children of God.
This new relationship of being children of God also gives us a new inheritance.
WE HAVE A NEW INHERITANCE
We progress from being slaves to sin to being children of God and joint heirs with Jesus. What are we heirs to, what is our inheritance? I am not going to elaborate on all of what being an heir includes, but Peter writes in
1 Pe 1:3-9
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. NASB
To be sure at least part of our inheritance is that which awaits us in heaven. John Stott in his commentary on Romans says it is possible that what Paul was referring to was not just something God will bestow on us a later time, but included the present appropriation of God Himself. All that He is, made available to you. That inheritance includes access to Him through prayer, access through the Spirit’s presence, and access through the written Word. All of those take on a new dimension when we become children of the Living God and He becomes our Father.
We see an foreshadowing of this in the Old Testament where the Levites received no inheritance in the land, but the Lord Himself was their inheritance according to Deut 18:2.
The Psalmist in Ps 73:25-26 wrote: Whom have I in heaven but Thee And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (NAS)
Is God your strength and portion? Do you know the indwelling of God's Spirit as the Spirit of belonging, so that without any hesitation without any reservations you can say I am thine O Lord and my desire is to walk according to your Spirit. If you can't say that we invite you to come this morning and discover the joy of a relationship in Christ.